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Monday, September 6, 2010

Just some general observations from over the weekend...the Bombers dropped their 5th consecutive game and their 6th straight Labour Day classic tilt against the 'Riders. Absolutely nothing shocking about the loss at all. We have a team, surprisingly, without an identity or a direction. The acquisition of head coach Paul LaPolice during the off-season was supposed to give the blue that intended direction to develop a policy of winning, similar to the model franchises of Montreal and Saskatchewan. It typically takes 3 years for a head coach in professional sports to truly leave their fingerprints on a program. Players, media, and the fan base need to be patient during a regime change for obvious reasons. The CFL doesn't work that way. Teams need to win yesterday. This is a league where franchises don't have the luxury of waiting 3 seasons for the on-field product to produce acceptable results.

I have just 2 pieces of advice. The first is directed at GM Joe Mack: You're a legend of the game. You're also a dinosaur. I get it, you're NFL experience should qualify you for the 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame ballot. But, you need to focus more on homegrown talent and not so much on prospects/rejects from the NFL. Case in point, the starting wideouts and slotbacks for the 'Riders. Those players, with the exception of Wes Cates, who was born and raised in North Dakota, aka Manitoba South, grew up watching the CFL and played their high school and university football with CFL rules. There really is no learning curve for CIS players. The rules, pace and flow of the game, and the tradition of the CFL are second nature to these guys. Pro football is a copycat game so we need to start taking notes from the scouts and management of teams like Saskatchewan if we ever want to win another Grey Cup.

The second is directed to the bomber "fans": Please, for the love of God, update your jerseys! Here's a small guide: Tom Canada hasn't played here since 2008. He was only good for 3 seasons. Derick Armstrong also hasn't played here since 2008. He's not even in the league anymore. Barrin Simpson now plays for the 'Riders. The Milt Stegall jerseys are acceptable because, well, he's a legend. You can wear his jersey for as long as you want to. But, if I see one more gold, screen printed Canada or Simpson Bomber jersey, I'm probably going to blog about it.

Here's a mid-90's classic that you probably haven't heard or seen in awhile...unless you happened to catch, Austin Powers: The Spy who Shagged me, this weekend.